UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS
Drones Take Wing
O
n a bright sunny day in the August of 1849, the streets of Venice were crowded with happy faces celebrating Festa della Madonna della Salute. The revelers had little idea that soon, the sky above them would not only put an end to the festivities, but would also lead to their country’s surrender to Austria. For the first time in the history of wars, pilotless hot air balloons were used to drop bombs in the enemy territory. The technology was further developed after World War I and came to be known as drones several years later. Thanks to their ability to reach inaccessible places, over the years, the use of drones in search and rescue operations, mapping and surveying, and in other civil applications such as policing and firefight54
www.geospatialworld.net | July-August 2019
How a technology that was designed to destroy is now being used for the betterment of mankind. By Mahashreveta Choudhary
ing, has only multiplied. The exponential growth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for drones as they are popularly called can be gauged from studies that predict the emerging global market for business services using drones to be worth over $125 billion in future.
Sky is the limit Today, the application areas for drones are limitless. The technology that was once designed to destroy is now being used for the betterment of mankind. From wildlife conservation to disease control, emergency response, insurance to mapping, UAVs are being used in multiple sectors. Lauren K. Venin, Landscape Architect at Dresdner Robin, says, “The ability to safely and quickly gather data
